Nintendo has launched its own music streaming service that caters to fans of its games, including Mario and Animal Crossing. Fans will be able to listen to their favorite game tracks on their phones through the new Nintendo Music app, which has a user interface that pretty much looks like Spotify. The tracks are organized by game, so people can play the whole OST for specific titles if they want, but they can also listen to character playlists like a selection of songs performed by Animal Crossing’s K.K. Slider.
If they’re in the mood for certain songs, they can hit up one of the pre-made themed playlists, which put together tracks for themes like “boss battle” and “victory.” The app offers mood playlists, as well, that groups tracks with similar vibes, such as soft, relaxing songs for bedtime listening. One feature that’s probably unique to the service is spoiler prevention. If the listener adds a certain game to the setting, the app will hide the soundtracks that could give away a surprise ending or an unexpected final boss, among other potential spoilers. They can also extend a single track and keep it playing on repeat for up to an hour if that’s all they want to listen to.
Fans can access the new Nintendo Music service with a Switch Online membership, though they can start listening to game tracks even if they’re still on free trial. Every member on a Switch Online Family membership can also access it, so they don’t need to pay for an individual subscription.
More than 500 Amazon employees have reportedly signed a petition demanding that AWS CEO Matt Garman reverses his decision to mandate a five-day office week as part of the cloud computing giant’s return-to-office efforts.
The letter, seen by Reuters, details Garman’s unsupported claims that most workers are on board with the company’s RTO policy.
In the letter, workers express concerns about logistical challenges relating to the stricter policy, including difficulties travelling long distances to work and trouble arranging childcare.
AWS workers hit back at CEO’s RTO policy
A spokesperson for Amazon told Reuters it offers commuter benefits, elder care and subsidized parking rates, among other benefits, to help workers return to the office more permanently. Its current demands are in line with most tech giants – Amazon’s office workers are presently required to be in the office three days per week.
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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has already spoken out about his support for office-based working, citing productivity benefits and the added support for local economies that travelling brings. A company-wide effort earlier this year warned workers that they should attend the office, relocate or voluntarily resign.
“It’s past the time to disagree and commit… and if you can’t disagree and commit, I also understand that, but it’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon because we are going back to the office at least three days a week,” Jassy had said.
When my ginger rescue cat Marmalade crawls on my lap and meows at me urgently, I often find myself wishing I really knew what was going on inside his head.
It might seem like storybook stuff, but communicating with animals may be closer than we think. Earlier this year, researchers revealed they had discovered that sperm whales in the east Caribbean use a phonetic alphabet of 143 combinations of clicks. They described it as the closest system to human language yet discovered and hope that one day they will be able to communicate with these complex, social creatures.
When considering what the best processor is for your PC, Intel offers stiff competition in productivity and gaming, despite facing downAMD’s Ryzen 7000 and Ryzen 9000 CPUs. Intel’s parts just need a bit more power to do it.
Although the Core Ultra 9 285K is the latest flagship CPU from Intel, it only just scrapes onto this list. There are lot of CPUs we’d recommend instead, and they all feature here as part of the best Intel CPUs you can buy in 2024.
Why you should buy this: It’s inexpensive, packed with cores, and offers much more performance than its price would suggest.
Who it’s for: Gamers and power users who want peak performance without breaking the bank.
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What we thought of the Intel Core i5-13600K:
The dilemma between Core i5 and Core i7 is always present with Intel processors, but the Core i5-13600K changes that dynamic. It’s much cheaper than the 14700K while offering similar performance in both productivity tasks and gaming. In some cases, it even beats down the flagship Core i9-13900K, making it one of the best CPUs you can buy right now.
It’s even competitive with the new-gen 265K and 285K for gaming, which is embarrassing for Intel, but great for budget-minded gamers.
For around $220, you’re getting a 14-core CPU with clock speeds upward of 5.1GHz, which would have been unheard of even a couple of years ago. Not all of those 14 cores are built equally, though. Similar to Intel’s previous generation, the Core i5-13600K mixes performance (P) cores and efficient (E) cores. With the Core i5-13600K, you’re getting six P-cores and eight E-cores.
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The six P-cores are more than enough for gaming, which is what allows the Core i5-13600K to compete with AMD’s Ryzen 5 7600X at a similar price. It’s the extra E-cores where Intel shoots ahead, though, offering better multi-core performance in demanding tasks like video encoding and rendering.
You can overclock it for added performance too, helping it compete more readily with higher-end options in gaming and productivity.
For additional savings, look out for the 13600KF, as it can often be found for a few dollars cheaper. If you want to stretch your budget a bit further, the 13700K isn’t much more and gives you a couple of extra cores to play with for increased performance in select apps and games.
Intel Core i5-13600K
The best Intel processor
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Intel
Intel Core i5-13400F
The best budget Intel processor
Pros
Excellent value
10 cores on a recent architecture
Fantastic gaming performance
Cons
No integrated graphics
Doesn’t support overclocking
Why you should buy this: It’s inexpensive while still offering highly competitive performance.
Who it’s for: PC builders on a tight budget that only need a few cores.
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What we thought of the Intel Core i5-13400F:
Intel always follows up its main releases with more budget-friendly options as a generation goes on, and unfortunately, they don’t always get the limelight they deserve. That couldn’t be more true than it is with the Core i5-13400F. For not much more than $150, you get a seriously powerful CPU for gaming and anything else besides.
This one comes from the Intel 13th generation, which isn’t exactly cutting-edge, but don’t let that scare you off. The Core i5-13400F opts for six performance cores and four efficiency cores, giving it strong multithreading performance, at a fair price.
Gaming is where the chip shines most, oftentimes only taking a backseat of 5% to 10% compared to the more expensive Core i5-13600K. You can push the processor further by removing its power limit, too, allowing it to rival even the Core i9-12900K from a couple of generations back. That’s a lot of CPU power for around $150.
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There are a couple of caveats for this one, though. For starters, it doesn’t support overclocking, but you can still remove the power limit for a performance boost. In addition, it doesn’t include integrated graphics, so you’ll need to pair the CPU with one of the best graphics cards. You can pick up the Core i5-13400, which is the same CPU with integrated graphics, but it’s about $25 more expensive.
Intel Core i5-13400F
The best budget Intel processor
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Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Intel Core i9-14900K
The fastest Intel processor for gaming
Pros
Big improvements in gaming performance
Same pricing as previous generation
Works with LGA1700 socket
AI-assisted overclocking on 14900K
Cons
Minor productivity improvements
Still slower than AMD 3D V-Cache chips
Still very power hungry
Why you should buy this: It’s the most powerful Intel CPU for gaming you can buy right now.
Who it’s for: Anyone upgrading from 12th-gen or older.
What we thought of the Intel Core i9-14900K:
Intel’s Core i9-14900K is a refresh, and because of that, it doesn’t bring major performance improvements to the Core i9-13900K, which we’ll get to next. For most people, the Core i9-13900K is still the CPU to buy. If you’re looking for the absolute best gaming performance, though, the Core i9-14900K offers it. The 285K might be newer, but it falls short in too many games to be recommendable.
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The 14900K is close in gaming performance to AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D, and weak productivity tasks, such as compression, are better with the new 14th-gen chips. However, areas like rendering and transcoding remain largely unchanged compared to the previous generation.
There’s no upgrade path with this chip, though. Next time you upgrade, you’ll need a new motherboard too.
Intel Core i9-14900K
The fastest Intel processor for gaming
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Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Intel Core i9-13900K
The best high-end Intel processor
Pros
Cheaper than AMD competition
Support for 600-series motherboards and DDR4
Solid multi-core improvements
Surprising gen-on-gen improvements
Cons
High power demands
Small gaming performance gains
Why you should buy this: It’s the best bang for your buck for high-end value.
Who’s it for: High-end enthusiasts who don’t mind spending up for the best of the best.
What we thought of the Intel Core i9-13900K:
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The best Intel CPU on the market right now isn’t the Arrow Lake flagships, or even the 14th-generation top dogs, but Intel’s Core i9-13900K, and that’s surprising because it’s not even the most expensive. It’s still a pricey chip, but the Core i9-13900K manages to undercut AMD’s competing Ryzen 9 7950X while offering better performance in many cases.
No small part of that performance advantage is that the Core i9-13900K comes with 24 cores. You get eight P-cores and 16 E-cores, giving you a total of 32 threads to work with. Even more impressive, the processor can boost up to 5.8GHz out of the box, offering some of the highest clock speeds available in a desktop CPU right now.
Despite sporting the 13th-gen Raptor Lake architecture, you can still use older 600-series motherboards and DDR4 memory with the Core i9-13900K, too. That makes it a much more compelling (and cheaper) upgrade path if you haven’t jumped to DDR5 quite yet.
The only downside of the Core i9-13900K is that it’s too powerful. It runs hot and draws a lot of power, and in tasks like gaming, the cheaper Core i5-13600K offers almost identical performance. If you need peak horsepower, though, nothing beats the Core i9-13900K.
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The 285K is worth considering too, as it is much faster than this chip in productivity, but the gaming performance is much less impressive.
Intel Core i9-13900K
The best high-end Intel processor
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Intel Core i3-12100F
The best Intel processor under $100
Pros
A step-up over the Core i3-10100F
Suitable for light gaming and daily use
Good performance for the price
Cons
Requires a discrete graphics card
Why you should buy this: It’s a cheap, yet decent current-gen processor that costs around $100.
Who’s it for: Users on a budget who still want a versatile CPU.
What we thought of the Intel Core i3-12100F:
It’s not part of the latest generations of Intel chips, but for around $80, the 12100F is a steal for entry level gaming and productivity.
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Equipped with four cores and eight threads as well as clock speeds reaching up to 4.3GHz, this processor is a bit of an oddity in the Alder Lake lineup, as it doesn’t share the hybrid architecture of its more expensive siblings and instead serves up only P-cores. That doesn’t make it unsuitable at all, however, and it will carry its own weight through both gaming and various daily tasks. It may not be your first choice if you want something truly powerful, but if you’re looking to keep the costs low, this should be your go-to.
If you can find it for comparable money, the 14100F is about 10% faster and worth grabbing, but otherwise the 12100F is the value king for Intel in 2024.
Intel Core i3-12100F
The best Intel processor under $100
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Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Best Intel CPU for productivity
Pros
Insane efficiency improvements
Delivers multi-threaded performance gains without Hyper-Threading
Runs very cool in games
A lot of headroom for CPU and memory overclocking
Cons
Gaming performance struggles
Inconsistent productivity performance
High-end memory required for best experience
Why you should buy this: It’s Intel’s fastest processor for productivity yet.
Who’s it for: Professionals who specifically want to use Intel CPUs.
What we thought of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K:
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In our review, we called the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K impressive, but not necessarily good. That’s a fair summation, because while it blows the doors off many professional and creative applications, it is very much worse in gaming than the best CPUs from recent years, and there are even some non-gaming apps that don’t fair as well, either.
That’s partly because this is a very new chip design with a new architecture and lacking in simultaneous multi-threading, but it makes full use of those cores either way, delivering awesome performance in a wide range of apps. It’s also far more efficient than recent Intel flagships have been, which is a welcome change.
This is not a good CPU for gaming though. While it’s fast in some games, it’s much slower in others, and AMD’s gaming CPUs blow it out of the water.
If you aren’t married to Intel, AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X is a very viable alternative, too, with much more consistent performance.
What’s the difference between K and F Intel processors?
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Intel uses multiple suffixes to indicate different features, but “K” and “F” are among the most common. “K” processors are unlocked, so you can overclock them with a compatible motherboard. “F” processors don’t come with integrated graphics, so you’ll need a dedicated graphics card. You may even find a “KF” processor, indicating that it’s unlocked and requires discrete graphics.
You can usually find variants of Intel’s leading i9, i7, and i5 processors with either or both suffixes. If you’re planning on building a gaming computer, you can save a few dollars by purchasing the “F” variant of a processor. On the other side, “K” processors are slightly more expensive with their overclocking capabilities. If you want a full breakdown on Intel’s naming scheme, make sure to read our CPU buying guide.
How good are AMD Ryzen processors compared to Intel?
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Intel Core and AMD Ryzen both offer excellent processors at different price points and in different forms, so one brand isn’t definitively better than the other. In 2024, though, AMD’s X3D CPUs are the best for gaming, while Intel’s lineup tends to offer more general performance, at the cost of a higher power draw. The newer AMD Ryzen processors pack a lot of cores and perform well, so they’re still very capable CPUs, but they’re a little more specific in what they’re good for.
In the mobile world, Intel used to dominate. Now, you can find devices with AMD Ryzen processors, too, and they perform great. That said, there is still a far greater number of machines that come with Intel processors, and they stack up well against the AMD competition.
How do you know which processor is best for your needs?
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To find the best processor for your needs, you need to consider the applications you want to run. If you’re into gaming, for example, a processor with strong single-core performance is a good choice because games usually stress only a handful of cores at a time. On the other hand, content creation applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve can take advantage of a greater number of cores, so a processor with a lot of cores is better for them.
Those are good rules to follow. Games favor a fast processor over one with a lot of cores, and content-creation apps prefer more cores over faster ones.
How can you tell if a PC processor is any good?
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The best way to tell if a PC processor is good is to look at individual benchmarks. Specs like core count and clock speed don’t tell the full story — they only show what the processor is capable of within its own range of products. If you’ve settled on a certain brand or series, however, looking at core counts and clock speeds can show you where the processor sits in the range.
If you want to test your own processor, there are plenty of tools available. Cinebench is a great benchmarking tool that focuses solely on the processor, while PCMark 10 provides an overview of performance across a suite of day-to-day tasks.
Make sure you’re buying a CPU from a recent generation that has at least six cores, and you should be alright.
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How does Intel’s CPU naming scheme work?
Intel’s naming scheme can get a little confusing sometimes, but once you know your way around it, you’ll be able to navigate every processor by heart without needing to check what it does.
Let’s assume the processor you’re trying to look up is called “Intel Core i9-14600K.” The first part, Intel Core, refers to the brand of the processor. Intel has several brands that are not Intel Core, such as the low-end Intel Pentium or Intel Celeron. It also has some newer mobile CPUs, branded Core Ultra.
The second part is the brand modifier. This is important and refers to how powerful a particular CPU is within its generation. In adition to the budget i3, Intel also offers i5, i7, and i9. The i5 and i7 lines are typically midrange to high-end, and the i9 is reserved for high-end processors.
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Moving on to the numerical part of the name, the first two digits refer to the generation of the processor. As an example, Intel’s 14th-generation processors, Raptor Lake, all start with a “14.” The final three digits refer to the specific model and also go up depending on how good a model is.
The letter at the end refers to the type of processor. There are many variants, so check them out on Intel’s website if you want a full list. The most common ones include:
The clock is ticking…. and ticking. We’ve been waiting for Samsung to finally release the One UI 7 beta, but it’s been taking so long. In any other year, Galaxy users would have been gearing up for the stable build at this point. However, according to a new leak, it looks like Samsung is getting ready to release the One UI 7 beta to the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S24 phones.
What’s the big idea of postponing the One UI 7 update for so long? Well, Samsung has been hard at work revamping the software for One UI 7. We’re not just talking about a few UI tweaks and features; the company is making some substantial changes to the visuals. Over the past couple of months, we’ve been seeing leaks of what this skin would potentially look like.
Some reports point to Samsung adopting the iOS-style notification center. Rather than showing the Quick Settings and notifications together in one panel, there would be one panel for notifications and another one for the Quick Settings. This is similar to what we see with HiOS/XOS (from Tecno and Infinix, respectively) and HyperOS.
Also, we exclusively leaked a rundown of everything new coming to One UI 7. It looks like Samsung has some major changes coming down the pipeline.
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The One UI 7 beta could be coming to the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S24
This leak comes from notable leaker Tarun Vats. Be that as it may, you’ll still want to take this news with a grain of salt. On X.com, he posted two screenshots showing the One UI 7 beta program forum pages for both the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S24.
This confirms that Samsung is getting this beta ready. We don’t know when the beta is going to land, but seeing the forum pages set up gives us hope that we’re in for a surprise soon. If Samsung pushes the wait past January, then the Galaxy S25 phones might launch with One UI 6.1.1 out of the box.
We’re racing toward the giving time of year and what better way to treat a loved one (or even yourself) than with the gift of time and convenience. Robot mops and vacuums can all but wipe out the time you spend on a chore that often has to be taken care of. An entry-level Roomba has dropped to a price that may make that proposition even more enticing for newcomers to the robot-cleaner world.
The Y011 Roomba Combo Robot Vacuum and Mop from iRobot has dropped to $160. That’s 42 percent off the regular price of $275 and a new record low.
iRobot
A budget-friendly Roomba robot vacuum and mop combo has dropped to its lowest price to date.
This unit doesn’t have some of the funkier features of pricier models, such as self-emptying or advanced object detection. But it should do a solid job of keeping your floors clean.
The Y011 cleans your space in neat rows, vacuuming and mopping in one pass. It has a low-profile design to help it slink under beds and sofas, while an edge-sweeping brush helps it pick up debris from corners and edges. The Roomba uses sensors to move around furniture and avoid tumbling down stairs. If there’s a particularly dirty spot that needs extra attention, the spot cleaning feature enables the device to spin in place and keep cleaning that area for up to two minutes. On top of that, you can start an ad-hoc cleaning using Alexa or Google Assistant.
According to iRobot, this model will run for up to 120 minutes on a single charge and automatically return to its charging station when it needs more juice. The washable microfiber mop pad can be reused up to 30 times.
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Meanwhile, an entry-level vacuum-only Roomba has dropped to $140, down from $250. That’s a decent deal as well, but plunking down an extra $20 for iRobot to take care of mopping as well may be a more compelling option.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Web3 data and entertainment startup Redacted has launched a new early stage crypto fund for Web3 startups and gaming companies.
The fund is backed by Saison Capital, Expert Dojo, and Frekaz Group. The fund has already deployed capital into seven initial projects aimed at expanding the Redacted ecosystem, offering founders critical support on go-to-market strategies and tokenomics development.
Announced during Redacted Airways, a Web3 event in the air, the fund seeks to invest and support the next generation of decentralized applications across entertainment, decentralized finance and infrastructure, as part of the Redacted Ecosystem’s growing portfolio of products.
“The Redacted Fund was born out of our viral event with Qatar Airways in September, hosting 300 of Web3’s top venture capital funds, angel investors and influencers such as Aethir founder Mark Rydon, NFT whale Grail, and personalities like Mario Nawfal, the Crypto Banter team, and Andres Meneses,” said Shanjan Kumar, CEO of Redacted. “At the main event on the flight, we invited more than a dozen founders to pitch. These seven companies were shortlisted as a result of highly positive feedback, including participating judges from Animoca Brands, Polygon, and Abu Dhabi Blockchain. After further due diligence, we decided to invest in these startups.”
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The fund will offer Redacted’s upcoming token – RDAC, as a catalyst for growth. The seven startups that received investment are Biptap, LegendaryWeb3, Hub.xz, Numa social, Spaace.io, Ammalgam and iAgentProtocol.
“Biptap is excited to be a part of the Redacted Ecosystem. Biptap has made leaps and bounds on the growth of our platform and in our strategic partnerships, and we are thankful to have already received support and investment from Redacted given their incredible network and their strategic insight on how to succeed in web3,” said Jonathan Low, CEO and founder of Biptap, in a statement.
According to Kumar, founders who work with the Redacted Fund can expect support not just in the form of capital, but also tokenomics. Redacted will allocate a portion of its upcoming RDAC Token to The Redacted Fund’s portfolio companies. The token serves as additional incentives for portfolio companies to catalyse growth, as well as validation of product market fit as they leverage the RDAC Token to refine and iterate their products.
Post-investment, the Redacted Fund will offer portfolio companies in-depth go-to market support, drawing on a bench of seasoned advisors across web2 and web3.
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The Redacted Fund advisors include Kevin Henrikson, a seasoned entrepreneur; Saison Capital partner Qin En Looi; Expert Dojo cofounder Brian Mac Mahon and Frekaz Group cofounder Frederic Bonelli, whose funds have invested in more than 500 companies.
“Saison Capital was the first institutional investor in Redacted, and we have seen the team excel in their distribution and go-to market. We are excited to productize this capability and offer it to more web3 founders via The Redacted Fund. Critically, founders now can lean on The Redacted Fund’s proven execution ability and battle-hardened experience to stand out in an increasingly competitive and noisy environment,” said Qin En Looi of Saison Capital, in a statement.
The Redacted Fund is focused on enabling Web3 founders with early seed stage start- ups who already have built products, and are looking for funding, strategic advisory, and go-to-market strategy. Cheque size opportunities may be up to $250,000.
Backed by global Web3 team PG Group, Redacted has secured more than $10 million in funding from prominent investors and web3 founders, including Animoca Brands, Spartan Group, Saison Capital, Polygon Ventures, Dingaling, and Yat Siu.
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